Astrid Øyre Slind won her first cross-country medal at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica on Saturday. However, her success was overshadowed by harsh criticism of her ambitious travel plans.
Astrid Øyre Slind has a lot planned for the next few days. After winning the bronze medal at the World Championships in Skiathlon, the Norwegian long-distance specialist wants to at least get a medal in the mass start over 30 km in Planica. Immediately after the World Cup, the 35-year-old will also try to defend her title in the legendary Vasa Run. But this second part of her plan has now given the Norwegian a shitstorm.
Because the Vasalauf is already taking place on March 5th, but the World Championships mass start was only scheduled for March 4th, the time between the two competitions is simply too short to travel from Planica to Sweden the traditional way. For this reason, Slind accepted the offer of Norwegian businessman Kjell Inge Røkke and will make the journey in his private jet.
Travel plans of cross-country star Astrid Øyre Slind “paradoxical”
The national Greenpeace boss Frode Pleym has absolutely no understanding for this plan. It is “paradoxical” that an athlete whose career depends on snow gets on an environmentally harmful private jet, he rumbled to “TV2”. “It is absurd that our winter sports enthusiasts, who depend on reducing emissions, use private jets,” said the environmental activist.
Calling Slind a “poor role model,” Pleym said, “This is about protecting the sport they love and helping keep skiing possible in the future. There are only poor excuses for using a private jet . Participating in the Vasalauf is one of them.”
Many users on the Internet agreed with Pleym’s criticism. They vented their anger in the comment columns. Slind himself did not comment on the Greenpeace activist’s allegations when asked by “TV2”. However, the Norwegian authorities expressed their views on this.
“You can’t always think about all the consequences”
Team boss Stig Rune Kveen refuted the allegations against his athlete and said: “The topic was probably boiled too high. She will take the plane together with a few other people. This is not a flight that she will take on alone.”
Slind’s teammate Anne Kjersti Kalvå also showed understanding for the travel plans. “There are not many people who get the chance to experience something as big as a World Cup mass start and then have the opportunity to participate in the Vasalauf, I think it’s cool, you can’t always think about all the consequences,” she said 30 year old.